Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, spoke passionately about diversity, equity, and inclusion on the House floor on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Charleston, West Virginia. (Perry Bennett, West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Republican lawmakers in the Senate passed a bill Saturday banning nearly all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in West Virginia, using what Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, referred to as “dirty tricks” in the final 30 minutes of the 2025 regular session.
The bill passed the House at 10:41 p.m., following nearly three hours of debate.
When the bill reached the Senate, Garcia’s 13 amendments appeared to be pending.
Then confusion reigned.
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, moved to suspend legislative Joint Rule 3, which governs how amendments and disagreements between the two legislative chambers are handled. That motion was adopted, and the Senate then agreed with and passed the House’s version of the bill 31-2, with no consideration for Garcia’s amendments.
Tarr withdrew his initial motion to suspend legislative Joint Rule 3 after a brief break, as several attorneys and the chamber’s parliamentarian gathered at Senate President Randy Smith’s podium, citing a technical error. The vote would have to be conducted again.
Another member then moved the previous question to reconsider the Joint Rule 3 motion and to concur with and pass the House’s version of Senate Bill 474. The Senate voted 31-2 to approve the bill.
Garcia and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, the only no votes on the bill, attempted to call points of order on Tarr’s motions and Smith’s rulings, but their microphones were muted.
Smith, R-Preston, admitted in an interview after the chaos that he didn’t fully understand the legislative procedures that led to SB 474’s passage. His job, he explained, is to preside over the body and the process, but others tell him what is and is not allowed.
“This was a procedure I’ve never seen in my 13 years in the House or Senate,” Smith said. We have a parliamentarian who knows the rules as well as anyone in the Senate. Sen. Tarr is very familiar with the procedure. As far as I was concerned, the procedure and rules were in order.”
If it wasn’t, Smith explained, someone would have to challenge the law’s legitimacy in court. For the time being, however, it is awaiting approval from Governor Patrick Morrisey.
Garcia stated in an interview after the Senate adjourned Sine Die for the session that he believes the legislation contains a “legal deficiency”.
“I have questions whether this bill actually did pass,” Garcia admitted. “… [Republicans in the Senate] will take short cuts, break rules, whatever it takes to get their agenda passed.”
Senate Bill 474 prohibits the provision of specific services or opportunities to individuals based on their race, color, ethnicity, country of origin, and, in some cases, gender.
The bill only applies to DEI policies and initiatives implemented by state and local governments, as well as schools and higher education institutions.
Garcia’s attempt to block the bill came after his House colleagues, mostly Democrats, used similar tactics. There were 27 amendments filed by legislators. Only three of those were adopted.
Moves to include the Crown Act — a policy that prohibits discrimination based on hairstyles and textures — in the bill, as well as adding nondiscrimination measures based on political beliefs and exempting parts of the bill from applying to veterans, were all voted down.
Democrats in the chamber delivered fiery speeches against the overall bill, including Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, one of only three Black lawmakers in the state Legislature.
Hamilton explained to her colleagues that DEI measures are not intended to give people of color or other groups preferential treatment; rather, they are intended to ensure that everyone has equal access to apply for and receive the same opportunities.
She discussed her experiences dealing with system racism in West Virginia, particularly at the Legislature. Her colleagues, Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, and Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, who are also Black, supported her points.
Hamilton stated that failing to recognize racism and sexism will only hold West Virginia back.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important,” Hamilton said. “If we do not embrace these principles, we have no chance of winning this Backyard Brawl. We will continue to lose year after year. I just pray that we can abolish not only this legislation, but also the mentality and ideology that accompany it, as well as the energy.”
